What's your voting philosophy?

[marmar]

I have a friend who I consider liberal, but who votes for some Republicans because she believes in divided government - one party keeping check on the other. That's something I've never really considered. I vote strictly on (very liberal) ideology.
How would you describe your guiding principle when it comes to voting?

[Lautremont]

1. Close eyes, press button.

If paper record of vote is offered, ignore it.

[IndyOp]

2. You are never just voting for 1 candidate, you are voting for a party...

At the moment we are stuck with this nightmare-of-a-two-party system.

While I am not excited about voting for my Dem candidate for Congress - I am EXCITED about Congressman John Conyers becoming the ranking member of the Judiciary Commitee and Congressman Dennis Kucinich becoming the ranking member of an important international relations commitee.

I VOTE DEM IN THIS ELECTION - ALL THE WAY!!

I do vote further left when I can - I voted for Nader in 2000 - in Indiana which ALWAYS goes red for the Pres so early that it is the top story in the Election Night Coverage which starts at 8:00 pm (and our polls close at 6 pm).

When I have the latitude I vote further left.

My parents used to vote to keep the government balanced with Dems and Reps - but the era in which there were rational Reps to vote for is long gone.

:(

[marmar]

4. True...that was my argument to my friend:

At one time, there was such a thing as a reasonable Republican, but not anymore.

[Johnyawl]

5. the era in which there were rational Reps to vote for is long gone.

Very well said, Indy. I too was once an independent who voted for the person, regardless of party, and believed the country was best served when neither party had absolute control. No more. Chaffee is one of the very few reasonable republicans left, yet to vote for Chaffee at this point is to vote for Mitch McConnell for majority leader. And there is nothing reasonable in that.

So now I vote a straight Democratic ticket, because the only hope we have of stopping this slide toward authoritarianism and fascism is too take power away from the right. The left needs to be united, and we need to unite with the middle, because as Ben Franklin once said "If we don't hang together, we will surely hang seperately"

[femmocrat]

3. I vote straight dem, because I don't believe there is any republican

who would be "closer to my ideology." I disagree with them on just about everything!

[susanna]

6. I used to vote for divided government, until the GOP...

...became straight up nutbars. Then I went wholly Dem. :-)